Second paragraph of third chapter:

Before the rite begins, the tribal elders dunk the ants into an herbal brew. Not to agitate them, but to anesthetize them. The agitating part comes later, after the sleeping ants are handwoven into a pair of gloves made from leaves and palm fronds. When the ants wake up, they’re angry and ready to attack whoever is wearing those gloves—a fact the young boys know all too well. During waumat, each boy must put on these gloves and face the pain as their first step to adulthood.

A straightforward book looking at the psychological benefits of and anthropological rationale for religious rites, particularly rites of passage, and arguing, contra the New Atheists, that people who practice a religious faith often end up mentally healthier for it. This is pretty much where my own prejudices are as well, so I found little to argue with.

DeSteno should for completeness have looked a bit more at how and why religious beliefs go wrong. There are plenty of sectarian conflicts around the world where the protagonists themselves believe that religion is a strong factor, whatever the underlying roots may be. And we see the poisonous effect of extreme religious views in the USA today.

And for completeness, I should also reference a recent blog post by Skepchick, Rebecca Watson, noting academic studies that show people who have left religion becoming more liberal in their political beliefs.

You can get How God Works here.

This was the non-fiction book that had lingered longest on my unread shelf. Next up on that list is Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, by Robin Dunbar.